‘GoT’ recap: ‘It is time,’ and the battle rages

Kit Harington as Jon Snow in the penultimate episode of season 4 of “Game of Thrones” (HBO photo by Helen Sloan)

Please note: The following is a recap of the events in episode 9, season 4, of Game of Thrones. Read no further if you haven’t set watched the episode.

“The Watchers on the Wall,” the second to last episode of the monumental fourth season of “Game of Thrones,” begins with talk about love, first by SamwellTarly and Jon Snow. As they stand guard atop the wall, keeping an eye out for Mance Rayder and his 100,000 Wildings, Samwell wants to know what it is like to love a woman. Jon can’t find the words to describe his love for the Wilding archer Ygritte. Besides, what difference does it make.

“We’re all gonna die a lot sooner than I had planned,” Samwell answers.

Down below, there is talk of love among the Wildings as Ygritte prepares arrows for the coming battle. She is baited by Styr about the fact that Jon Snow lives. She warns everyone that when the battle commences, Jon is hers to kill.

At Castle Black, Samwell goes to the library to study the details of the oath all men of the Night’s Watch must take, which includes provisions that a watchman must never take a wife or father a child. The oath does not proscribe other “activities,” though, as Samwell puts it to Jon Snow, and he wants to make sure he is correct.

He is interrupted by Maester Aemon, who recalls the one great love of his life, long ago when he was young. She could have been his and changed his life forever, if only he’d said the word. Now, though old and blind, he can see her in his mind’s eye more clearly than any other memory.

“Love is the death of duty,” he tells Samwell. At this point, Samwell doesn’t even know if Gilly and her child are still alive, but of course, his love for her is.

Gilly and her infant show up at the gates and Samwell insists she be allowed in. He secrets them away in a storeroom, promises he will never leave her and, at least, kisses her before he goes back on duty.

“It’s time,” comes the word at the Wildings’ camp as the freefolk light a massive fire that can easily be seen from atop the wall.

As they prepare for battle, Samwell is asked by a compatriot if he is afraid. He admits he is, but how is it that he summoned the courage to kill a White Walker?

“When you’re nothing at all, there’s no more reason to be afraid,” he answers.

But you’re afraid now.

“Well, I’m not nothing anymore,” Samwell answers, referring of course to the fact that he has finally summoned the courage to express his love to Gilly.

The Wildings advance on the wall with giants, a mastodon and Thenns. Watching from above, Ser Alliser Thorne admits to Jon Snow that, indeed, he should have blocked up the tunnel, but what wasn’t done, wasn’t done, and now it is time to hold off the Wildings and secure the wall.

The battle is on and it’s clearly the climax of the season. Heroes are made, cowards, like Janos Slynt, are shown to be what they are. For all his arrogance, Alliser shows himself to be a true hero. Instead of remaining relatively safe atop the wall, he descends to the scene of the action and personally leads his men against the Wildings. He goes one to one against Tormund Giantsbane and is wounded.

Samwell spots young Olly, who’s been operating the elevator, and urges him to arm himself.

As Jon carves his way through hordes of attacking Wildings, Ygritte is firing off arrows as quickly as she can draw back the bowstring.

She spots Jon, battling Styr, who dies with a hammer lodged in the top of his hairless head.

Ygritte draws back the bowstring and time seems to stand still. Jon spots her, she stares back. Will she kill him this time or, like the last time, only wound him because, of course, she loves him.

As we try to gauge her next move, an arrow comes from nowhere and slams through her body.

Jon rushes to her as she dies.

The arrow came from the bow of young Olly who has, as Samwell advised, armed himself to fight for the cause of protecting the wall.

The episode ends with a cliffhanger, setting up the season finale next week. Jon knows the Wildings will return the next night, and the night after that, until finally, they defeat the Night’s Watch. It is inevitable. The only way to stop them is to kill Mance Rayder.

This was an extraordinary episode, which we’ve come to expect for the second to last episode of any “GoT” season. The battle scene was jaw dropping at every turn. Ygritte’s death was perhaps not unexpected, but the agent of her dispatch was a true shocker. Poetic justice, “GoT” style.

I couldn’t help feeling once again that George RR Martin has invested an extra degree of himself in the character of Samwell Tarly, the round little man who shows himself capable of so much more than others expect, both in love and war.